WHO: Medal of Honor recipients,
crew of USS Liberty and military officials will be in attendance.
Eulogies will be given by: George Golden, representing the crew of the
USS Liberty; and Cindy McGonagle, daughter of Captain McGonagle.
He will receive full military honors and be buried in Section
34, near the common gravesite of six crew members killed in the
USS Liberty incident.

One by one, they approached the grave to leave
a single white rose, then stood ramrod straight, gazed off from the top
of the cemetery's hill and snapped a crisp salute.

Most of them were portly men, graying old sailors
in baseball caps and blue jackets that read "USS Liberty . . . Remember
. . . 8 June 1967." Beneath another tombstone at the bottom of the hill
lay the remains of shipmates who had died that day.

Yesterday, the faithful survivors brought their
long-dead comrades at Arlington National Cemetery the body of their captain
-- a reunion of seamen eternally bound by one of the most bloody and bizarre
peacetime encounters in U.S. naval history.

Captain William L. McGonagle won the Medal
of Honor for valiantly commanding the USS Liberty when the American spy
ship was attacked by Israeli aircraft and torpedo boats in the Mediterranean
during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

Thirty-four U.S. sailors were killed, and 171,
including McGonagle, were wounded, among the crew of 300. Thirteen of the
dead -- including the remains of six in the mass grave at the bottom of
the hill -- were buried at Arlington.

The Israelis later apologized. But Liberty
survivors, and some former U.S. officials, believe the attack was deliberate,
staged to conceal Israel's pending seizure of the Golan Heights, which
occurred shortly thereafter.

McGonagle, who died of lung cancer March 3,
1999 at the age of 73 in his Palm Springs, California, home, held his silence
for years, torn by loyalty to the Navy and love for his crew and his ship.
But even he, in recent years, came to conclude the attack was deliberate.

Yesterday, as six gray horses pulled a black
caisson bearing a gold box of his cremated remains through flurries of
spring blossom petals -- and as four gray Navy F-14 fighters thundered
overhead in tribute -- most talk was of "Captain Bill."

"Captain McGonagle was an honorable man," Richard
J. Brooks, 63, of Moyock, N.C., who was a 32-year-old master chief machinist's
mate in the engine room on the day the Liberty was attacked, said as he
stood near the grave yesterday.

"He was a gentleman, one of the best skippers
the Navy ever had to command a ship, and most of all a dear friend," said
Brooks, who stood wearing a USS Liberty jacket. "I keep my shipmates, my
skipper and my ship in my heart every day."

Ernie Gallo, 54, of Dunn Loring, a baker's
son from North Philadelphia who was a 22-year-old communications technician,
gestured toward McGonagle's grave and then at his buddies: "It started
with him. And these guys kept us alive. I wouldn't be here today if it
wasn't for him and these guys."

James Smith, 52, of Virginia Beach, who was
a damage control worker that day, said: "I spent 25 years in the Navy.
There were two men I'd follow anywhere, and he was one of them."

McGonagle, born a sharecropper's son in Wichita,
was a child of the Dust Bowl, who had joined the Navy to get out of poverty
and the vegetable fields of Southern California. He had risen through the
ranks and had assumed command of the Liberty on April 25, 1966. Originally
a freighter built as a World War II "Victory" ship, the Liberty had been
pulled from retirement and outfitted with millions of dollars of electronic
eavesdropping gear, according to a former ship's officer, James M. Ennes
Jr., who has written a book about the attack.

In December 1964, the Liberty was put to work
as a spy ship. Three years later, with McGonagle now in command, it was
hurried to the eastern Mediterranean, where the Arab-Israeli war had erupted.

Despite the deep concerns of McGonagle and
his crew about their proximity to the war, the ship, armed only with a
few .50-caliber machine guns, began a slow patrol 12 miles off Gaza.

The Liberty, code-named "Rockstar," had been
denied the protection of a destroyer by superiors who said it was "not
a reasonable subject for attack," according to Ennes. But about 2 p.m.,
after being buzzed by Israeli scout planes, the ship suddenly was assailed
by Israeli jets firing rockets and dropping napalm.

Liberty sailors were gunned down as they scrambled
for cover. The machine gun crews were tossed into the air like dolls. Flaming
napalm blanketed parts of the ship. Sailors radioed frantically: "Any station,
this is Rockstar. We are under attack."

Then, after several passes by the jets, the
torpedo boats arrived. After several misses, one struck home, blasting
a 40-foot-wide hole below decks and killing 25 men almost instantly. All
the while, McGonagle, his right leg riddled with shrapnel, maintained command,
hollering orders -- "Right full rudder! All engines flank!" -- assessing
the damage and trying to dodge the torpedoes.

"I saw him on the bridge during the height
of the battle," Ennes recalled in an interview. He "was just running through
the fire and flying shrapnel and rocket parts, and he just ignored them.
He just walked along yelling orders and doing his job."

"He went onto the starboard wing of the bridge
just as a napalm bomb hit," said Ennes, who was not present yesterday.
"I thought he was gone. And he just walked through the flames like a fireman
in an asbestos suit, trying to save his ship."

Yesterday, as people hugged and reminisced,
many said a priceless bond was forged that afternoon aboard the ravaged
old ship.

"Something really wonderful came out of that
attack," said retired petty officer Joseph C. Lentini, now with the EPA
in Washington. "We got a family. I don't know a man in the group that won't
hug you. I don't know a man that wouldn't lay his life down for me. . .
. It works that way with all these characters. . . . That wouldn't have
happened otherwise."
William Loren McGonagle, 73, a retired Navy Captain who
received the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for valor, for
his conduct in commanding the ill-fated intelligence ship USS Liberty in
1967 when Israel unleashed a deadly attack on the vessel, died March 3,
1999 at his home in Palm Springs, California. He had lung cancer.

In one of the most controversial events in
U.S. military history, the lightly armed Liberty was attacked by Israeli
planes, three torpedo boats and helicopters and was bombed with napalm,
torpedoed and shelled on June 8, 1967, while sailing in international waters
in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Of the 294 men aboard the Liberty, 34 were
killed and 171, including Captain McGonagle, were wounded. Though the captain
managed to dodge four of five torpedoes, one struck, smashing a 40-foot
hole in the ship's side.

A total of 821 rocket and machine-gun holes
were later counted in Liberty's hull. Captain McGonagle had shrapnel wounds
in his leg.

The attack, which occurred during the Six-Day
War between Israel and Arab states, was blamed by the Israelis on a mistaken
identification. They maintained they thought the Liberty was an Egyptian
ship.

Israel apologized to the United States and
paid more than $12 million in compensation.

The events, shrouded in tragedy and conflict,
have never been resolved. Many of those aboard the Liberty, as well as
many senior U.S. officials, have taken issue with the Israeli version of
events. Some have accused both the U.S. and Israeli governments of concealing
vital information about the incident.

Captain McGonagle, years after the attack,
demanded that the two governments release all details of the attack.

During a 1997 reunion of Liberty survivors
in Washington, the Associated Press quoted him as saying: "I think it's
about time that the state of Israel and the United States government provide
the crew members of the Liberty and the rest of the American people the
facts of what happened, and why . . . the Liberty was attacked 30 years
ago today.

"For many years I have wanted to believe that
the attack on the Liberty was pure error," Captain McGonagle said.

But "it appears to me that it was not a pure
case of mistaken identity. It was, on the other hand, gross incompetence
and aggravated dereliction of duty on the part of many officers and men
of the state of Israel," he said.

In 1967, the USS Liberty (AGTR-5) was a converted
cargo ship technically classed as an "auxiliary general technical research"
ship. It was an electronics intelligence-gathering craft, armed with four
.50-caliber machine guns.

On June 8, the ship was near Sinai, positioned
to monitor electronic traffic taking place over most of the war zone.

At 2 p.m. that day, Israeli forces began an
attack on the Liberty that was to last more than two hours.

First, high-performance jets struck the ship;
then came other jets carrying napalm. The attack was continued by motor-torpedo
boats that fired five torpedoes. Finally, the ship was attacked by helicopters
that machine-gunned the ship's life rafts.

James M. Ennes Jr., a deck officer aboard the
Liberty during the attack, later wrote the best-selling "Assault on the
Liberty" that told of the attack and some reasons he and others thought
the Israelis attacked the ship.

The book and other publications told how the
Liberty had flown a large, brand-new American flag, how it carried Navy
markings, and how in appearance it was unlike any Egyptian ship.

The book and later press reports tell of Israeli
pilots calling to their base to say that the Liberty was obviously a U.S.
ship and being ordered to continue their attack.

Some have speculated that Israel, preparing
to launch an attack on the Golan Heights, did not want Americans monitoring
their military communications.

After the attack, Liberty crewmen were kept
away from reporters, and the incident was minimized. But the ship received
a Presidential Unit Citation.

Members of the crew received a Navy Cross,
several Silver Stars and 205 Purple Hearts (34 posthumously). And in 1968,
Captain McGonagle received the Medal of Honor.

The award citation pointed out that "although
severely wounded during the first air attack, Capt. McGonagle remained
at his battle station on the badly damaged bridge. . . . Steadfastly refusing
any treatment which would take him away from his post, he calmly continued
to exercise firm command of his ship."

The citation goes on to say that "subsequent
to the attack, although in great pain and weak from the loss of blood,
Capt. McGonagle remained at his battle station for more than 17 hours.

It was only after rendezvous with a U.S. destroyer
that he relinquished personal control of the Liberty and permitted himself
to be removed from the bridge. Even then, he refused much-needed medical
attention until convinced that the seriously wounded among his crew had
been treated."

Captain McGonagle, who was born in Wichita,
Kansas, entered the Navy in California. He served in World War II and the
Korean War and received degrees from the University of Southern California
and the University of Idaho.

He served in the Navy nearly 30 years before
retiring after the Liberty incident.

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity
at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sailing in international
waters, the Liberty was attacked without warning by jet fighter aircraft
and motor torpedo boats which inflicted many casualties among the crew
and caused extreme damage to the ship. Although severely wounded during
the first air attack, Capt. McGonagle remained at his battle station on
the badly damaged bridge and, with full knowledge of the seriousness
of his wounds, subordinated his own welfare to the safety and survival
of his command.

Steadfastly refusing any treatment which would
take him away from his post, he calmly continued to exercise firm command
of his ship. Despite continuous exposure to fire, he maneuvered his ship,
directed its defense, supervised the control of flooding and fire, and
saw to the care of the casualties. Capttain McGonagle's extraordinary valor
under these conditions inspired the surviving members of the Liberty's
crew, many of them seriously wounded, to heroic efforts to overcome the
battle damage and keep the ship afloat. Subsequent to the attack, although
in great pain and weak from the loss of blood, Captain McGonagle remained
at his battle station and continued to command his ship for more than 17
hours. It was only after rendezvous with a U.S. destroyer that he relinquished
personal control of the Liberty and permitted himself to be removed from
the bridge. Even then, he refused much needed medical attention until convinced
that the seriously wounded among his crew had been treated. Captain McGonagle's
superb professionalism, courageous fighting spirit, and valiant leadership
saved his ship and many lives. His actions sustain and enhance the finest
traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. (Captain McGonagle earned the Medal
of Honor for actions that took place in international waters in the Eastern
Mediterranean rather than in Vietnam.)

CONGRESSIONAL
MEDAL OF HONOR SOCIETYUNITED STATES OF AMERICACHARTERED BY THE CONGRESS

1. Please DO NOT release
Jonathan POLLARD, a convicted traitor of the United States, to the Government
of Israel, as part of the Middle East peace process, or for any other reason.

2. Please DO NOT release
Jonathan POLLARD to the Government of Israel where he could continue to
cause irreparable security harm to the United States of America.

3. Please DO NOT release
Jonathan POLLARD to the Government of Israel until and unless the Government
of Israel acknowledges, in writing and publicly, that the Government of
Israel's armed forces (air and naval) deliberately attacked USS LIBERTY
(AGTR-5) (A Technical Research Ship) on June 8, 1967.

Israeli aircraft conducted surveillance of
the ship within moments of our arrival on station off the coast of the
Sinai on the morning of June 8, 1967. The ship was soon identified
as USS LIBERTY by Israeli Naval Headquarters, by referring to "JANE'S FIGHTING
SHIPS" 1966 OR 1967 issue, which showed a photograph of the ship and listed
in detail its characteristics. In fact, an identification "tower"
was placed on their Battle Plot with an "A" on the tower to identify the
ship as an American ship. The plot was not kept up to date, and was
removed when the watch changed at noon that day. The ship was overflown
on several occasions before the attack commenced. An Israeli Naval
Officer went to the American Embassy Naval Attache' to obtain information
that the ship was indeed USS LIBERTY, but the US Naval Attache' did not
have our operating schedule, so he could neither confirm or deny that the
ship was the USS LIBERTY.

When the attack began about 2:00 p.m. (local
time) the ship was subjected to relentless and repeated murderous fire
from the attacking aircraft (which were unmarked - a violation of international
law). The gun crews of the two (2) bow .50 cal. machine guns were
killed during the initial strike on the ship. We could not man the
starboard bridge level .50 cal. machine gun, because our life boat was
burning (1) deck below and the heat did not allow anyone to approach the
gun. We could not man the port bridge level .50 cal. machine gun,
because two (2) 55 gallon gasoline drums were burning furiously one (1)
deck below. Again the heat of the flames prevented anyone from approaching
the gun. WE WERE DEFENSELESS against the onslaught of eight (8) or
more firing passes by at least four (4) aircraft, and the strafing and
launching of five (5) torpedoes by three (3) motor torpedo boats.
That a larger number of casualties was not reported is a tribute to the
fighting spirit of the officers, crew, civilians, and Marines, when they
had nothing to defend themselves with, during our awesome hours of peril.

ADDITION BACKGROUND:

USS LIBERTY (AGTR-5), a Technical Research
ship was sailing legally and peacefully, in international waters in the
Eastern Mediterranean Sea, twelve and one-half (12.5) nautical miles from
the nearest land off the coast of Sinai, during the Arab-Israeli SIX Day
war, when it was attacked, without warning or provocation, by four (4)
unidentified jet fighter aircraft, firing rockets, machine guns, and napalm.
The ship was then strafed and torpedoed by three (3) Israeli motor torpedo
boats. One (1) torpedo exploded in the Research spaces of the ship,
where it caused the majority of the fatalities. The Government of
Israel shortly after the attack acknowledged that their armed forces
conducted the assault. The apology for the attack was accepted, but
the reason for the attack as "misidentification" was never accepted by
the US Government.

Thirty-four (34) officers, sailors, a civilian,
and a US Marine were killed or died of their wounds as a result of the
attack. One hundred seventy-one (171) additional crew members received
wounds as a result of the attack. The Government of Israel did compensate
the families of those killed, the individuals that were wounded, and eventually
paid reparations for the damage done to the ship and its equipment.
The ship remained afloat, in spite of the extensive hull damage from the
torpedo explosion, and after hull repairs in Malta, the ship returned to
Little Creek, VA, apparently to avoid undue publicity that the ship probably
would have received had it returned to its home port of Norfolk, Virginia.
No high level Executive Branch members welcomed the ship home to the USA,
as was the practice in later years, such as the Battleship IOWA, and other
incidences.

Except for a few high ranking naval officers,
no one has felt our pain of not knowing exactly why the ship was attacked.
Over thirty-one (31) years after the attack, the crew is entitled to know
the details concerning the attack by the Government of Israel and also
the details of the role the US Government in the entire affair. Why
were our aircraft recalled to their carriers on two (2) occasions before
they reached our location to assess the situation, and what official ordered
the recall after "Hot Line" communication was established with Moscow to
alert Nasser that the planes were being sent to see what the condition
of USS LIBERTY was? None of the planes ever reached our location.
For over seventeen (17) hours we received no assistance from US forces
in the Mediterranean.

This is the only US Navy ship attacked by a
foreign nation, involving a large loss of life and so many personnel injured
that has never been accorded a full Congressional hearing.

About a year after the attack, USS LIBERTY
was dismantled and scrapped. The ship was awarded the Combat Action
ribbon, and the Presidential Unit Citation, and many crew members received
individual combat awards (Navy Cross, two (2) posthumously, Silver Star,
Bronze Star, etc.).

I was the Commanding Officer, USS LIBERTY (AGTR-5)
at the time of the attack, and was presented the Medal of Honor, by the
Secretary of the Navy, at the Navy Yard on June 11, 1968, for my performance
of duty during the attack and post-attack recovery period.

4. Please DO NOT delay
release of Jonathan POLLARD, until after the elections on November 3, 1998,
if it is your intention to release him, with or without due consultation
with US military and security experts. If you are going to release him
in any case, please let the people know of your intentions and executive
action before they vote in the upcoming elections.

Very respectfully,William L. McGonagleCaptain, USN (Ret.)

Eulogies
to Captain William McGonagle

Capt. McGonagle was the greatest, most honorable
man I have ever known in my lifetime. The loss and the hurt in my heart
is unbearable. My prayers for his soul and his family ,and for my shipmates
are all I have to offfer, I wish there was more.Stan White, Master Chief Petty Officer of
the USS Liberty===============

The Captain was a very strong man - I
truly believe he was one of the rare few in life that you could trust with
your life - as we all did. Lloyd Painter, former ship's officer, USS
Liberty==============I was very saddened to learn of the death
of Captain McGonagle. I would like to offer my sympathy to the Liberty
crew for their loss of the leader who led them though such danger. His
greatest memorial will surely be in their hearts and lives. I feel very
privileged to have known this true American hero.Dr. John Borne, historian===============I wish the Captains family comfort in this
time of great loss.It hurts that he has gone on, but I know his life and
his deeds will live on forever.I was very proud to serve under his command
and great leadership.Im looking forward to seeing him again when my turn
comes up. Phillip Tourney, surviving crewman, USS Liberty===============My heart is very heavy with the loss of our
Captian. He is responsible for ALL the crew that surived on June 8 1967.
I LOVE HIM! I thank GOD for the HONOR of serving with Him, and being part
of His extended Family of the USS LIBERTY, I've been to the Other Side
and Back, he is in true tranquility, more than you Know. I do Know. "ATTENTION
ON DECK! CAPT. WILLIAM L. McGONAGLE Departing" Aloha! My Dear Capt. My
deepest heart felt feelings go to His entire Family.R. Larry Weaver, surviving crewman, USS Liberty===============Dear Captain McGonagle,This should have been written before your
death, but as I have put it off until it is too late, I wish to offer a
small tribute. If it weren't for the actions
you took almost thirty two years ago, I would not be able to write this
small note as to your integrity, and your love for all of us. We
have watched you suffer with many difficulties that most people have no
idea of, and you came out on top. We all stand tall, knowing that
we served under one of the finest men this country will ever know.
May the God of peace have mercy upon your soul, and even though it may
not seem so at this time, you will rest from the pain that we all have
shared, in one way or another.Ronald G. Kukal, surviving crewman, USS LibertyFormer chaplain, Liberty Veterans Association=================Dear John and Liberty crew members
and their families - How do you say "thanks'" to someone for doing
their duty? How do you say "see you later" when they take that final cruise?
These mere words can`t express the sorrow Carol and I feel about your beloved
Captain. All we have to do is pass our library and pause before the
memorial stone to know somewhere, some town and it's people cared about
you all and what you did for our country and how you suffered a most exquisite
, private pain in the darkness of unjust secrecy. Captain McGonagel is
loved , as are all of you and will forever be held is honor by our family
and our town of Grafton. The Lord who made the seas will calm
them and hold you all in His perfect peace....He is the light of our world.With everlasting love and devotion,Jim and Carol GrantGrafton, Wisconsin==================While the United States has lost one of its
genuine naval heroes, Cpt. William McGonagle's deeds live on, and are a
permanent part on U.S. naval history and tradition. Bill McGonagle was
also very much loved by his crew. He will be missed.Redge Fishel,Arlington, VAAssociate Member, LVA====================My heart is also broken. The Captain is at
peace now and will keep his new lookouts on watch for the rest of the crew.
He will be desperately missed as a family member is. May the wind
always be at his back and ours also. With Deepest Respect;John and Mary Ann Hrankowskisurviving crewman, USS Liberty =================== My sincerest condolences to the
family of Captain McGonagle. The world has lost a great man and a
superb Naval Officer, and I have lost a friend.David E. Lewis, ship's officer, USS Liberty===================It was with profound sadness that I only today
learned of the death of your beloved Captain. Truly he will continue
to live in the memories of his shipmates and in the hearts of all Americans.

It was he, through his struggles during and
after the attack on USS Liberty who personified to all Americans what devotion
to duty and courage under fire really meant. He will be missed.Kind regards, Michael Patterson, Webmaster, Arlington National
Cemetery Website===================Captain McGonagle, through his superb professionalism,
prepared his crew for anything that might happen. His courage during
the attack and his example afterward were inspirational to us all. Had
it not been for his leadership, the ship would not have survived.Jim Ennes, surviving ship's officer==================It was today that I learned of the death of
CAPT McGonagle. I have had the highest respect for your skipper (and
yourselves) since I first read your book. When I was aboard USS GREENLING,
I gave a copy of your book to my CO, who read it immediately. About
a week later he was telling me how impressed he was by the way you and
your shipmates had saved LIBERTY. The most interesting remark was
reserved, however, forCAPT McGonagle. What my skipper said
was this: "I should only be such a good CO" What better Epitaph?Again Please accept my heartfelt condolences'v/rPatrick M. Reillyex USS GREENLINGfuzzypony3@aol.com===================Thus another great American hero has left
us.God bless him!

We don't have many true heroes around any more,
except for members of that brave Liberty crew.

Dr. E.A. Richards, P.E.=====================

Dear
Friends and Shipmates:

Our heroic commanding officer, Captain William
Loren McGonagle, died quietly at home in Palm Springs, California, at 3:30
Wednesday afternoon, March 3, 1999, from the ravages of lung cancer.

A memorial ceremony will be held at Atlington
National Cemetery at a date and time to be determined.

Arlington Memorial Ceremony

A memorial service for Captain William L. McGonagle,
former commanding officer of USS Liberty, will be held at Arlington
National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, at 9:00AM, Friday, April 9, 1999. Persons wishing
to attend should present themselves at the Administration Building, Arlington
National Cemetery, before 8:30AM, April 9, 1999.

When
Navy Capt. William L. McGonagle received his Medal of Honor, it was not
bestowed on him by the president, as is customary, or even presented at
the White House. McGonagle, who died last week at 73, was given his award
in the relative seclusion of a shipyard near Washington by the Navy secretary.
For all of McGonagle's heroism, he was still part of an incident that the
U.S. and Israeli governments would rather forget.

He was the captain of the Liberty.

A lightly armed World War II-era freighter
converted to a technical resource ship, the Liberty was on duty in the
eastern Mediterranean on June 8, 1967, Day 4 of what would soon be known
as the Six-Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbors, when it was attacked
by Israeli planes and torpedo boats.

Although staffed by U.S. Navy personnel, the
Liberty was actually an intelligence-gathering ship, a listening post for
the National Security Agency, the U.S. intelligence branch responsible
for communications intercepts and code-breaking. Below decks, 100 crew
members were using sensitive radio equipment to monitor traffic in the
region.

As the afternoon of June 8 approached, off-duty
members of the Liberty crew spent their time on deck sunbathing and waving
to Israeli planes as they passed overhead. Crew members recalled that some
of the pilots even waved back. But just before 2 p.m., two Israeli
Mirage fighters came back, and this time the pilots opened fire on the
Liberty, spraying the vessel with rockets, machine gun fire and napalm.
Israeli gunboats soon arrived and took over the attack, launching torpedoes,
one of which ripped a 40-foot hole in the hull. Of the 294-man crew,
34 were killed and 171 wounded.

McGonagle was on the bridge when the attack
started. He was severely burned when one of the planes dropped napalm on
the bridge, and his legs were so badly torn by shrapnel that a makeshift
tourniquet could not staunch the flow. "If I left . . . with those
wounds, I'd never have been able to get back to the bridge," he told a
reporter later.

The Liberty sent SOS signals to the 6th Fleet.
The carrier Saratoga finally responded, acknowledging receipt of the call
for help. Twelve fighter planes were dispatched to the Liberty's rescue,
but those planes were quickly recalled on orders from Washington.
Then suddenly the attack was over. The Israeli gunboats offered help to
the ship they had just tried to sink. The American response was, at a minimum,
rude.

Through it all, McGonagle continued to oversee
the firefighting and flood control efforts on the stricken ship.
He said that his crew inspired him to stay. "I would lay down on
the deck, and put my leg on the captain's chair to stem the loss of blood,"
he said. He stayed at his post through the night, often stretching
flat on the deck and navigating by the North Star. It took 17 hours for
U.S. help to arrive.

By midafternoon of the day of the attack, Israeli
officials had informed Washington of the incident. In the ensuing furor,
Israeli officials expanded their explanation, saying that the fighter pilots
thought the Liberty was an Egyptian freighter. President Johnson
accepted the explanation and an apology, but several high-ranking members
of his administration and the military were not satisfied with the Israeli
story.

"My position is that the Israeli military is
highly professional and to suggest that they couldn't identify the ship
is . . . ridiculous," Adm. Thomas Moorer, who was chief of naval operations
at the time McGonagle received his Medal of Honor, told the Washington
Post.

Other than a brief public statement after the
incident, McGonagle refused to discuss the matter. He was, in the words
of one of his crew members, "a good Navy captain." But in 1997,
on the 30th anniversary of the attack, McGonagle spoke up.

In a speech at a reunion of Liberty crew members
and their families at Arlington National Cemetery, he called for a full
accounting from Israel and the United States.

"I think it's about time that the state of
Israel and the United States government provide the crew members of the
Liberty and the rest of the American people the facts of what happened,
and why . . . the Liberty was attacked," McGonagle said, his voice cracking
with emotion. "For many years I have wanted to believe that the attack
on the Liberty was pure error," the captain said. But, he said, "it
appears to me that it . . . was not a pure case of mistaken identity. It
was, on the other hand, gross incompetence and aggravated dereliction of
duty on the part of many officers and men of the state of Israel."

There was no official response to his remarks.
Another member of the crew, James Ennes, now a retired Navy lieutenant
commander, found a separate explanation for the attack. In his 1980
book, "Assault on the Liberty," Ennes concluded that the Israeli attack
was an attempt to prevent the Americans from learning of a planned Israeli
invasion of the Golan Heights. The invasion came a day after the attack
on the Liberty amid indications that Israel had earlier postponed the action.

Ennes said the ship's mission was not to spy
on the Israelis, but rather to intercept communications confirming Soviet
pilots were flying Egypt's air force fleet of Soviet-built Tu-95 bombers.

A U.S. Naval Court of Inquiry determined that
the Liberty was "in international waters, properly marked as to her identity
and nationality, and in calm, clear weather when she suffered an unprovoked
attack."

McGonagle, a Kansas native who received a degree
from USC and served in the Navy during World War II and the Korean War,
recovered from his severe wounds before receiving his Medal of Honor.

He was promoted from commander to captain and
served several tours of duty before retiring in the mid-1970s to the Palm
Springs area, where he died last week of lung cancer.

McGonagle is survived by two daughters, Cindy
McGonagle of Portland, Ore., and Sandra McGonagle of Austin. Memorial
services were being planned for Arlington National Cemetery and during
the Liberty reunion in June at Virginia Beach, Va.